Supporting means for a mattress, cushion and the like

ABSTRACT

A mattress or cushion support comprising an injection-molded plastic mat or netlike fabric provided along its side and end edges with integral tie means for speedily yet effectively connecting same to the frame of a bed, folding cot, chair, chaise longue and the like. The plastic mat may be formed as a one-piece grid having length and width such that it provides the complete support, or it may be formed in plural, i.e., two half-length, sections which are secured together along a transverse meeting line (or lines) as by metal clips.

United States Patent Kramer 51 Jan.25,1972

[ SUPPORTING MEANS FOR A MATTRESS, CUSHION AND THE LIKE [72] Inventor: Hyman Kramer, 50 Carter Ave., Stamford, Conn. 06902 [22] Filed: Dec. 22, 1969 [21] Appl. No.: 887,196

[52] US. Cl ..5/186, 5/354, 5/191, 297/D1G. 2 [51] Int. Cl. ..A47c 7/02, A470 27/14 [58] Field of Search ..5/1 86 B, 190, 191, 354; 160/371, 402, 404; 49/34, 57; 297/452, 457, DIG. 2; 24/201 A [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,742,197 1/1930 Calvano ..5/186 B 2,127,710 8/1938 Baker ..5/186 2,990,007 6/1961 lgessler ..297/457 X 2,907,376 10/1959 Lilienfeld ,.5/l86 3,125,156 3/1964 Grimshaw... 160/404 X 3,147,495 9/1964 Farstrup 2,532,713 12/1950 Gottfried ..297/D1G. 1

Primary ExaminerCasmir A. Nunberg Attorney-J. Harold Kilcoyne [57] ABSTRACT A mattress or cushion support comprising an injection-molded plastic mat or netlike fabric provided along its side and end edges with integral tie means for speedily yet effectively connecting same to the frame of a bed, folding cot, chair, chaise longue and the like. The plastic mat may be formed as a onepiece grid having length and width such that it provides the complete support, or it may be formed in plural, i.e., two halflength, sections which are secured together along a transverse meeting line (or lines) as by metal clips.

4 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTED JAN25 an I NVEN TOR ATTORNEY SUPPORTING MEANS FOR A MATTRESS, CUSHION AND THE LIKE This invention relates to improvements in mattress and cushion supports of the so-called mat or grid type.

As previously constructed, mattress and cushion supports of this type were in the form of mats made up of a multiplicity of individual wire links connected by loops or eyes into what was know in the industry as Wire mat link mattress supports which were usually supplied by the fabricator thereof to cot or chair manufacturers (or other users) in bulk," in which form, because of the tendency of the links and eyes thereof to tangle and in many instances to catch on and to interlock with one another, it is very difficult to handle. Further, because a mat or grid made up of a multiplicity of individual wire links lacks any inherent or built-in elasticity, it was usually necessary to supply the elasticity required in a mattress or cushion support of the conventional wire-link type by the interposition of small coil springs in the connections between the so-called attaching arms usually provided thereon and the rails or frame parts of a cot or chair, for example, which the mat is desired to serve, which is known to be a laborious and time-consuming operation.

As distinguished from the conventional wire mat link mattress support as aforesaid, the present invention provides a mattress or cushion support of the so-called mat or grid type but which, instead of being fashioned of a plurality of individual wire links interconnected to one another as aforesaid, comprises an injection-molded plastic mat or grid which is provided along its side and/or end edges with integral tie means whereby it may be simply, readily and effectively fastened to the rails constituting the frame of a bed, cot, chair, chaise lounge or the like. According to a further feature of the invention, said plastic mat or grid may by injection-molded in one piece to the size required for a full-size mat, or it may be injectionmolded in sections, such as two half-length sections, which are secured together along a transverse meeting line as by metal clips, thus to make up a two-part full-size mat.

By injection-molding the plastic mat from a suitable plastic which possesses a degree of inherent elasticity and which further possesses memory" properties, the requisite elasticity necessary to a commercially acceptable mattress support is built into the mat itselfand thus no plurality of coil springs interposed between the mat and the frame parts (rails) to which the mat connects are usually necessary. On the other hand, should some elasticity in addition to that inherent in the makeup of the injection-molded plastic mat be considered desirable or necessary, such may be supplied by helical coil springs interposed in the connections between the integral tie or fastening arms with which the mat is provided and said rails.

Various forms of injection-molded plastic mattress and cushion supporting mats according to the invention are shown in the several views of the appended drawing which also illustrates alternate forms of attaching arms and fastenings of such a mat to a supporting frame, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of an injection-molded plastic mat as herein contemplated shown to be fastened along its sides and ends to the side and end rails of a frame such as that of a folding cot;

FIG. 2 is a broken-away plan view of an injection-molded plastic mat according to the invention, which illustrates a different mesh configuration provided in the makeup of said mat, it being understood that the mesh configurations shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are to be regarded as typical only of numerous other mesh configurations which may be employed;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of one of the many possible forms of fastening arm constituting the integral tie means provided on the mat or grid in the molding thereof, by which it may be secured to the rail of a frame according to the invention; and

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate a simple mat-to-rail fastening made possible by the provision of such means on said mat or grid;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view corresponding generally to FIG. 5 but illustrating a variant form of integral tie means provided on the mat in the molding thereof for securing same to a tubular frame member or rail; and

FIG. 7 illustrates another form of mat arm fastening to a tubular frame which utilizes a separate fastening clip preferably of the type disclosed and claimed in my US. Pat. No. 3,042,l 13, dated July 3, 1962, designed for and widely used in securing the ends of seat and/or back-forming webbing strips to a tubular frame member,

Referring now to the drawing in greater detail, reference numeral 10 (FIG. 1) generally indicates a mattress or cushion support constructed and secured in mattress and/or cushion supporting relation to the frame of an article of furniture, which is shown to be a folding cot but which of course may be a bed, chair, bench, chaise lounge and the like, all as contemplated by the present invention. More particularly, rather than being made of individual wire links connected by eyes, loops, etc., as is conventional, the mattress or cushion support 10 is composed wholly of plastic, preferably a high-impact plastic, and it is fabricated by injection-molding same to the form of a unitary mat or grid of the proper size enabling it to serve as a mattress or cushion support, and which is further provided along its sides and end or ends with integral tie means whereby it may be readily yet effectively secured to the frame of a cot, chair, etc.

Thus, the unitary injection-molded plastic mat 10 shown in FIG. I is composed or wrought of a plurality of spaced-apart, preferably parallel, longitudinally extending strands 11 integrally joined by a plurality of spaced-apart, preferably parallel, transversely extending strands l2, and its integral tie means are shown to comprise the so-called arms 15 which extend outwardly from the sides of said unitary mat or grid proper and corresponding arms 16 which extend outwardly from the ends of the mat proper.

lllustratively, the aforesaid tie means 15 with which the mat or grid 10 is provided along its sides and which secure said mat or grid along its sides to the side rails 17 of a cot frame are each formed by extensions 15a, 15b of two adjacent parallel transverse strands 12 of the mat, which converge on one another and finally merge into a elongate strap 25. As best seen in FIG. 3, said strap 25 is provided at its free end with a crossbar formation 26 of substantially greater width than that of the strap proper and at a point intermediate said crossbar formation and its other end with a slotlike opening 27 dimensioned for the passage of said crossbar formation 26 upon said strap 25 being wrapped around the rail 17 as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5.

Alternatively and as shown in FIG. 6, a strap 28 generally similar to the strap 25 but modified to the extent that it may be somewhat shorter and is devoid of a slot corresponding to the slot 27 may be secured to a frame side rail 17 by threading its crossbar formation 31 through a slotlike opening 32 provided in the wall of the side rail itself, prior to or following wrapping of the strap 28 about said side rail by an amount such that a length portion thereof immediately adjacent the crossbar formation 31 is lapped by the portion of the strap extending between the rail and the mat proper.

As also seen in FIG. 7, the strap portions 33 of said attaching arms 15 may be more positively fastened than as just described to a side rail 17 of the supporting frame by means of a webbing strip fastener 34 of the type disclosed and claimed in my US. Pat. No. 3,042,] 13 by forcing its arrowheadshaped prong through an opening in the strap end and a corresponding slotlike opening previously provided therefor in the wall of the side rail.

The aforesaid arms 16 for fastening the injection-molded plastic mat according to the invention along its end or ends to the end rails 18 of the cot frame are shown in FIG. 1 to differ from the side arms 15 in that they are provided by simple straps which illustratively comprises straightway extensions of the outermost longitudinal strands 11 which in part make up the mat and by by a like although centrally disposed strap 16): which extends from the endmost transverse strands 12. These simple straps 16 and 16x may be secured to the end rails 18 of the frame by either the FIG. 6 or the FIG. 7 form of securement, since their width is not such as to permit their fastening according to the fastening form illustrated in FIGS. 3-5 inclusive.

Whereas FIG. 1 shows in full lines the mat to be of onepiece construction throughout, i.e., having been injectionmolded complete from plastic in one piece having length and width corresponding to that of the mattress or cushion which it is designed to support, it is within the purview of the invention to injection-mold same in two half-length sections which ultimately will be secured along a transverse meeting line by clips or rings 14 applied to supplementary cross strands 13 provided at the meeting-line ends of the half-length sections, all as indicated by the broken line showing of said supplementary cross strands and clips.

Referring now to the FIG. 2 form of injection-molded plastic mat 50, such difiers from the FIG. 1 mat or grid only in the configuration of the mesh formed by the longitudinal and transverse strands making up the same. More particularly, the FIG. 2 form of mat or grid is so wrought that the mesh thereof has circular configuration rather than square, as in the FIG. 1 form. Another minor difierence in the FIG. 2 form over the FIG. 1 form thereof is that the fastening arms 45, 46 with which the.(FIG. 2) mat proper is provided along both its side and end lines or edges are of identical construction, which is preferably that of the FIG. 3 form of arm as previously described.

The advantages of a mattress and/or cushion support of the injection-molded oneor two-part construction according to the invention over the wire mat link mattress support of the prior art are numerous. More particularly, an injectionmolded plastic mat according to the invention is not prone to tangle even when supplied in bulk, as there are present no individual wire links having projections or movable parts in their connecting joints with which the other parts of the mat can interlock. A oneor two-part injection-molded plastic mat may also be more readily connected to a frame since at the points of connection only a one-piece strap, generally speaking, is required to be handled, and this feature alone automatically increases the speed of assembly or securement of mat-toframe by approximately 50 percent.

It will also be self-evident that a plastic mat according to the invention provides a much more effective (in terms of weight distribution) mattress support than one made of a plurality of wire links, as well as one that minimizes marking and damage to the mattress of cushion in use when weight thereon is frequently applied and relieved, since the plastic mat of the invention is devoid of metal eyes, joints, etc., which tend to dig into and wear the fabric of a mattress cover.

Further, by fabricating an injection-molded plastic mat or grid according to the invention from a plastic having known elastic properties, a desired elasticity requisite to the weight which the mattress or cushion supported thereby will normally carry may be built into the mat. Again, being made of plastic not subject to atmospheric or other conditions which might and sometimes do cause rusting of the wire link-type mattress support of the prior art, the plastic mattress support of the invention is not subject to rusting under any conditions.

Mention is also made of the fact that the configuration and openness or size of the mesh openings provided in a mat-type mattress support made by injection-molding same from a suitable plastic according to the invention may be widely varied and also that the mesh openings illustratively shown as square in FIG. 1 and circular in FIG. 2 may also be filled in with other geometrical figures having both ornamental and weight-supporting properties. Thus, FIGS. 1 and 2 each shows (in broken lines) a small number of the mesh openings thereof filled in with crossline patterns (which of course are typical only) and which would of course be repeated throughout the full area of the plastic mat.

As many changes could be made in carrying out the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having disclosed my invention in the foregoing, I make the following claims therefor:

A mat for supporting a mattress, cushion and the like from the parallel spaced-apart side and end rails of a supporting framework comprising: an injection-molded plastic grid composed of a plurality of longitudinal strands joined in spaced-apart relation by a plurality of spaced-apart transverse strands, and further including a plurality of tie means disposed at regularly spaced-apart intervals along the lengths of and which extend relatively outwardly from the longitudinal strands and at least the one transverse strand, respectively, which define the side margins and at least one end margin of the grid proper, the tie means which extend from the longitudinal side-margin defining strands comprising integral extensions of said transverse strands, of which the extensions of each two adjacent transverse strands converge on one another and merge into a straightway-extending tie strap having length requisite to its forming at least a partial securing wrap about a framework rail.

2. A mat according to claim 1, wherein the tie straps each terminates in a crossbar of greater width than its tie strap proper for enabling securement of the strap to a rail by insertion of the crossbar through a slot provided therefor in said rail whose length is substantially equal to the width of the strap proper.

3. A mat according to claim 1 wherein said mat is fashioned in two half-length sections and said sections are secured along a transverse meeting line.

4. A mat according to claim 1, wherein said tie straps are each provided with crossbar and slot means enabling securement thereof to its side rail after being wrapped around same. 

1. A mat for supporting a mattress, cushion and the like from the parallel spaced-apart side and end rails of a supporting framework comprising: an injection-molded plastic grid composed of a plurality of longitudinal strands joined in spaced-apart relation by a plurality of spaced-apart transverse strands, and further including a plurality of tie means disposed at regularly spaced-apart intervals along the lengths of and which extend relatively outwardly from the longitudal strands and at least the one transverse strand, respectively, which define the side margins and at least one end margin of the grid proper, the tie means which extend from the longitudinal side-margin defining strands comprising integral extensions of said transverse strands, of which the extensions of each two adjacent transverse strands converge on one another and merge into a straightwayextending tie strap having length requisite to its forming at least a partial securing wrap about a framework rail.
 2. A mat according to claim 1, wherein the tie straps each terminates in a crossbar of greater width than its tie strap proper for enabling securement of the strap to a rail by insertion of the crossbar through a slot provided therefor in said rail whose length is substantially equal to the width of the strap proper.
 3. A mat according to claim 1, wherein said mat is fashioned in two half-length sections and said sections are secured along a transverse meeting line.
 4. A mat according to claim 1, wherein said tie straps are each provided with crossbar and slot means enabling securement thereof to its side rail after being wrapped around same. 